Complete Unit 8604 roster unveiled in China for first time

On July 7th, 2025, when China marks the 88th anniversary of the whole-nation resistance war against Japanese aggression, Japanese scholar Seiya Matsuno donated the roster of "Unit Nami 8604", a detachment of the invading Japanese Imperial Army during its germ warfarein South China, to the Guangdong Provincial Archives. This donation marks the first timethe complete roster of Unit 8604 has been unveiled in China.

Tan Yuanheng, a retired professor from South China University of Technology and a leading expert on the Japanese Imperial Army's germ warfare in South China, explained that the "Unit Nami 8604," officially the South China Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department, was established in Guangzhou in the late 1930s. While ostensibly responsible for disease prevention and supplying clean water to Japanese troops, it was in fact engaged in germ warfare and horrific live human experiments. Because this bacteriological unit operated as a clandestine division and Japanese forces destroyed vast amounts of documentation upon defeat, primary-source materials concerning the South China Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department are exceedingly scarce.

The roster acquired by the Guangdong Provincial Archives was compiled on February 1st, 1945 (Showa 20) and sent to Tokyo as an archival record of the Unit's personnel. It had long been kept secret in Japan until it was first disclosed in 2019. Amid growing international pressure, the Japanese government finally publicly released the archive on May 14th, 2025, allowing on-site access by appointment.

“血色名册”曝光！侵华日军华南细菌战部队完整名册首现国内

2025年7月7日，在纪念全民族抗战爆发88周年之际，日本学者松野诚也向广东省档案馆捐赠侵华日军华南细菌战“波第8604部队”名册。这是“波第8604部队”名册首次在国内整册出现。

华南理工大学退休教授、侵华日军华南细菌战研究专家谭元亨介绍，二十世纪30年代末，日军组建了设在广州的“波第8604部队”，名为“华南防疫给水部”，表面上从事防疫和向士兵提供净水的工作，实际上却干着细菌战和人体活体实验的罪恶勾当。但细菌战部队属于日军秘密部队，且日军在战败时将大量资料销毁，因此有关“华南防疫给水部”的原始史料尤为稀少。

此次广东省档案馆接收的名册，编纂于1945年（日本昭和20年）2月1日，属于日本侵略军“波第8604部队”寄回东京留存备查的该部队人员名册档案文件。该档案曾被日本秘藏多年，直至2019年其存在才被世人知晓。日本迫于各方压力，终于在2025年5月14日公布该档案，提供预约申请到场查阅。

文、图丨记者 李焕坤 通讯员 粤档案宣

翻译丨柯妃娟

审校丨林佳岱